Pierre Bonnard - French artist, closely associated with the Nabi group. Bonnard was called the Japanese or “the most Japanese nabid” for his passion for Japanese prints and oriental ornamentation. Subsequently, the artist moved away from the principles of “Nabi”, his palette became more saturated, and color contrasts were replaced by the radiance of light.
Bonnard's main genres were family portraits, nudes, and landscapes. Color, color combinations and contrasts are the main characters of Bonnard's works, no matter what genre they belong to.
Pierre Bonnard was born on October 3, 1867 in Paris. The son of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of War and a noblewoman, he was accustomed to a comfortable life, a happy family atmosphere and a harmonious way of life. Bonnard has several prestigious lyceums behind him, including Louis de Grand. The father hoped to make his son a lawyer. Bonnard did not want to defend the right to become an artist with scandals, and went to the Faculty of Law, but at the same time entered the Julian Art Academy. A company gathered there: Paul Sérusier, Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard, Paul Ranson. In their work they were guided by Paul Gauguin. Surezier even went to see him in Brittany and was so impressed by the meeting that upon his return he organized the Nabis group (French Nabis - prophet), which included Pierre Bonnard. The name implies a special mystical experience available to the participants, their initiation into some secret knowledge. The Nabids looked for the absolute, complex symbolism, and the ability to express in painting inner world through bright colors. Artists of this movement preferred decorative elements and flat stylization.
When the movement occurs, Bonnar works several hours a week in state archives. The payment he receives allows him to continue his studies of drawing and painting.
At that time, he wrote to his mother: “In essence, I am satisfied, because I am securing a future for myself and can not interrupt my favorite lessons.” In 1889, Bonnard left the archives to start working in the prosecutor's office, where he went as if he were “going to hard labor.”
Soon his first successes in art came: in March 1891 he exhibited at the Salon of Independents, and 5 years later Durand-Ruel held his first personal exhibition. At the beginning of his creative activity, the artist gained fame through posters, lithographs and illustrations. The very first poster, ordered by France-Champagne and pasted on the walls of Paris in March 1891, enjoyed public recognition. She admires Toulouse-Lautrec and Felix Feneon (the famous art critic), and his father - according to Bonnard's mother - dances with happiness. Bonnard uses this moment to finally break with legal practice and devote himself entirely to the profession of an artist.
Since 1891, he and his friends Villars and Maurice Denis rented a workshop in the vicinity of Pigalle. Depicts numerous scenes from the life of Paris. In 1894, the artist created the famous poster for the magazine “La Revue Blanche”. At the same time, he began a rapid career as an illustrator. His creative activity very diverse. In addition to lithographs and illustrations, Bonnard also produces theater scenery, sketches of interior items, and in 1895 even took part in a furniture competition for the dining room, organized by the School decorative arts. But he does not neglect painting, regularly exhibiting with other nabids. In addition, it is exhibited independently of the group. He sends paintings to the Salon of Independents almost every year.
In 1893, Bonnard met 24-year-old Marie Boutsen, a muse who would inspire him to create numerous nudes, including genuine masterpieces. The artist and his model would live together for more than 30 years before they legalized their relationship in 1925.
According to the most conservative estimates, Martha posed for Bonnar about 400 times, and there is not a single picture where her body has “aged.”
The work “Idle Woman” is not only an image of a naked body, but also, as it were, invites the viewer to penetrate the world of the painting. Martha's face is in the shadows, which enriches the picture not only with an erotic component, but also fills it with a taste of mystery. The cat located near the woman’s head is a character that was usually used to emphasize not only the comfort of home, but also associated with intimate scenes.
Bonnard often visited friends abroad: in Switzerland, Venice and Milan, Spain, Holland, Belgium, England. The artist certainly visited great European museums. In 1908 he discovers Algeria and Tunisia. His love of travel arises from unsatisfied curiosity and the need for a constant change of environment. Despite his high origins, Bonnard is content with modest hotel rooms when traveling. To work, he only needs a table, canvas and brushes. He does not need luxury or convenience; he is a man with modest demands.
Bonnard exhibited for the first time at the Berheim-Jaune gallery in December 1906. After that, he will regularly present his work there. That same year, a little earlier, the artist admired a trip to the south of France: to Marseille, Toulon and Bagnoles. In 1909, Bonnard spent his first long time in the south of France in Saint-Tropez - at that time a small Provençal town that had already fascinated the Post-Impressionists and Fauves before him. He would return to Saint-Tropez often, including in 1911 with Paul Signac. The artist will also live in Cannes and Antibes.
He regularly took part in many exhibitions, art dealers vied with each other to get his hands on his paintings, and his fame crossed the borders of France and spread throughout the world.
Invited as a member of the Carnegie Prize jury, the artist in 1926 went to meet with the American public. He visits Pittsburgh, then Chicago, New York and Washington. His first solo exhibition takes place 2 years later in New York at the De Hock and Co. gallery. In 1936, he himself was awarded the 2nd Carnegie Prize.
Bonnard lives alternately in Cannes and Vernon. Despite frequent trips, he remains faithful to Paris: from 1911 until the end of his life, he rented a workshop on Turlyak Street. However, the artist continually complains about life in big city: “I don’t spend more than 2 months a year in Paris. I can’t work there: there’s too much noise, too many things distracting my attention.”
Pierre Bonnard
1867-1947
French painter and a graphic artist who went down in art history as one of the greatest colorists of the 20th century. In his youth he headed the group of artists “Nabi”.
Comes from a family of an official, Bonnard first studied law at the Sorbonne, and then studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, then at the School fine arts, where in 1888 the Nabi group was formed, which included Ranson, Denis, Sérusier, Vuillard, Roussel, and later Vallotton joined them. Under the influence of Gauguin and the art of Japanese engraving, artists localized color and made their own painting more flat. However, the strongest influence of Japanese engraving is visible in the works of Bonnard, who was even called the “Japanese Nabi.”
Pierre Bonnard was well acquainted with Ambroise Vollard and depicted him in several of his portraits. Bonnard exhibited his works at the Salon of Independents and met Toulouse-Lautrec. In 1905, together with Edouard Vuillard, he went on a trip to Spain, followed by trips to Belgium, Holland, England, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia and southern France. In 1925 Bonnard bought a house on the Cote d'Azur, in Le Cannet.
Pierre Bonnard (French: Pierre Bonnard; October 3, 1867, Paris, - January 23, 1947, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French painter and graphic artist who went down in art history as one of the greatest colorists of the 20th century. In his youth he headed the group of artists “Nabi (group)”.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST
In 1888, Bonnard studied at the School of Fine Arts, where the Nabi group (from the Hebrew nebiim (prophets)) was formed, uniting young artists who were looking for new horizons in art. In addition to Bonnard, the group included -, Roussel, and others. Following the example of the first generation of impressionists, the members of the group, admiring the art of Japanese engraving, sought to simplify painting, working with planes of pure color.
In 1891, Bonnard began exhibiting his paintings at the Salon des Indépendants and at the gallery Le Barc de Boutteville. During that period, the artist’s work was extremely diverse. He draws posters and furniture sketches, paints screens and theater scenery, illustrates books and albums, and works on prints and lithographs. Bonnard's first solo exhibition was held by Durand-Ruel in 1896.
In 1905, he went on a trip to Spain, followed by trips to Belgium, Holland, England, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia and southern France. By about 1908, the period of "intimism" was over. The artist again increasingly turns to landscape painting, his palette is even more rich and refined.
In 1925, Bonnard purchased a house on the Cote d'Azur, in Cannes.
In the 1930s-1940s, the artist settled in his home in Cannes. He still works a lot and fruitfully, often returning to his favorite topic - “nude”.
The artist died in 1947, in Cannes.
CREATION
IN early painting Bonnard reflects the influence of recognized masters of the Impressionists -,. Bonnard's creativity is very diverse: he created sketches of furniture, posters, designs for fabrics, painted screens and theatrical scenery.
Later, Bonnard moves away from sharply defined contours and color contrasts. He comes to painting based on the finest combinations of colors. His paintings are more reminiscent of Persian carpets or Chinese fabrics. The main themes of his works are interiors, landscapes, small street and everyday scenes, for which Bonnard is often classified as a second generation of impressionists, later called “intimists.” Pierre Bonnard criticized the Impressionists for their unfinished composition and naturalistic color.
Pierre Bonnard is called one of the most subtle masters and greatest colorists of his time.
His admiration for the familiar scenes of everyday life is transferred to the canvas along with joy and noble fantasies. He explored the play of light in home interiors through a rich artistic style.
Among his comrades Bonnard was called “Nabi the Japanese.” The fact is that Bonnard was greatly influenced by Japanese prints.
Under the influence of the art of Japanese engraving, artists localized color and made their painting more planar. Contemporaries paid tribute to the artist’s talent.
He was also called "the most picturesque painter."
At the end of his life, he again turned to rich color combinations in his paintings.
ARTIST QUOTES
- We call a love marriage a marriage in which wealthy man marries a beautiful and rich girl.
- Art can never exist without nature.
- The main theme is the surface, which has its own color, its own laws beyond those objects.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Amory, Dita, ed. Pierre Bonnard: The Late Still Lives and Interiors. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2009
- Brodskaya, Natalia. Bonnard. Parkstone International. 2011
- Cowling, Elizabeth; Mundy, Jennifer. On Classic Ground: Picasso, Léger, de Chirico and the New Classicism 1910-1930. London: Tate Gallery. 1990
- Frèches-Thory, Claire, & Perucchi-Petry, Ursula, ed.: Die Nabis: Propheten der Moderne, Kunsthaus Zürich & Grand Palais, Paris & Prestel, Munich 1993
- Hyman, Timothy. Bonnard. London: Thames & Hudson 1998
- Ives, Colta, et al. Pierre Bonnard, the graphic art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1989
- Turner, Elizabeth Hutton. Pierre Bonnard: Early and Late. London: Phillip Wilson 2002
- Whitfield, Sarah; Elderfield, John. Bonnard. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1998
The painful “vacation” finally gave way to a normal summer, Parisians began to disperse to the seas and summer cottages, and the city was left at the mercy of tourists and those few who (like us) had not yet come up with vacation plans. Is it true, summer program Paris is so full of exhibitions, events, holidays and festivals that at least don’t leave! That's why last Sunday, when almost all museums opened their doors for free, we found ourselves in an hour-long queue at the Orsay Museum for an exhibition "Pierre Bonnard. Peindre l" Arcadie), which runs until July 19.
*Le chat blanc, 1894
We knew nothing about this artist before the exhibition, and it was all the more joyful to discover that Pierre Bonnard painted not just cheerful, lush and peaceful paintings.He drew cats!
But first, a little history.
Pierre Bonnard- French post-impressionist artist, sculptor, illustrator, engraver - born in 1867. He was interested in painting since childhood, and when he grew up, he entered the Faculty of Law at the insistence of his father, but he did not stop drawing and actively attended classes at the Julian Academy, and then entered the Paris School of Fine Arts. There he discovered Monet, Degas, Cézanne and Gauguin, whose ideas became a source of inspiration for the young Bonnard.
For some time he continued his career as a lawyer, while simultaneously creating his first paintings,interested in Japanese prints,drawing posters and playbills, including for the famous Moulin-Rouge cabaret.
In 1891, at the Independent Salon in Paris, Bonnard presented five of his paintings and four decorative panels and in the same year stopped his advocacy, deciding to devote himself entirely to painting.
In 1893, the artist met his future wife Maria Boursin, who became his main model and muse. And perhaps the only tragic event in Bonnard’s life is connected with it: his suicide ex-lover, Renée Monchaty, a month after the wedding of Bonnard and Maria.
Otherwise, the artist’s life and career developed easily, successfully, without bumps and shocks. The inspiration for his work was everyday life, her priceless moments of idyll, tenderness and leisurely happiness. Playing with a cat, lunch, sleep, relaxing in the garden, taking a bath, walking along the sea - Bonnard knew a lot about simple joys, and France served as a wonderful backdrop for them. Normandy and the Cote d'Azur became the main advisers in the choice of colors, so Bonnard's paintings dazzle with their richness, richness and brightness of colors. This comes from them life force and energy, which can be said: these are paintings “bursting with health.”
And now about cats!
Cats appeared in Bonnard’s paintings with enviable regularity and from time to time became the main characters.
"White cat" -this is probably the most famous painting from the entire Bonnar cat series. The features of the animal's muzzle here surprisingly resemble a Japanese one - apparently, Bonnard's passion for Japanese prints had an effect. Disproportionately long legs blur the image a little, but at the same time make it incredibly cute and comical - it’s impossible not to smile while looking at this picture.
*Le chat blanc, 1894
This principle of depicting cats - narrow eyes, flared ears, white color - will become one of the artist’s favorites. But there will be other examples: for example, this shy cat with big eyes, who seems to have been caught at the scene of a crime - perhaps she knocked over a pot of flowers , or milk from the milkman spilled
*Le chat, 1893
Another heroine, with a different color.
*La petite fille au chat, 1899
*Le déjeuner des petits, 1897
*Stéphan Guégan, "Pierre Bonnard et son double", 1917
But the “Japanese” cats still remained the favorites.
*La femme au chat, ca. 1912
*Fragment of one of the paintings
*Another fragment is from the painting “La table de travail”, 1926-1937
"La table de travail", "Desk"
*Le chat, 1903*L'enfant au chat, 1906
*La tarte aux cerises, 1908
Bonnard was born and raised on the outskirts of Paris, in the family of a senior official in the War Ministry. After graduating from the gymnasium and then the lyceum, at the age of 18 he entered the law faculty of the University of Paris and soon began to study painting at the same time at the Académie Julian. A year later, Bonnard left the University and entered the School of Fine Arts. Dissatisfied with academic studies, he, together with his workshop mate Edouard Vuillard, studied independently and spent a lot of time in museums. The beginning of Bonnard's work can be considered a series of sketches written in the summer of 1888 in Grand Lans and similar in tone to the landscapes of Camille Corot.
Pierre Bonnard
Chateau de Virieux
1888
Oil on canvas. 22×27
Private collection
Bridgeman/Fotodom
In the fall of 1888, Paul Sérusier, Bonnard’s friend at the Académie Julian, returned from Pont-Aven with a painting written “under dictation” by Paul Gauguin - the so-called “Talisman” (Museum Orsay, Paris), which, as well as a small exhibition that took place shortly after, “ Groups of impressionists and synthetists" with the participation of Gauguin, made a deep impression on Bonnard and his friends. On the initiative of Sérusier, it was created art group Nabi (“prophets” in Hebrew), which, in addition to Bonnard, included Vuillard, Ker Xavier Roussel, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson and Felix Vallotton.
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Paul Sérusier
Mascot
1888
Wood, oil. 27×21.5
Orsay Museum, Paris
Felix Vallotton
Five artists
(From left to right: Pierre Bonnard, Felix Vallotton (standing), Edouard Vuillard, Charles Cottet, Ker-Xavier Rousseau)
1902-1903
Oil on canvas. 145×187
Art Museum, Winterthur
His first earnings prompted Bonnar to quit his clerical job and focus on artistic creativity. Together with Sérusier, Denis and Vuillard, he rented a large workshop in Lower Montmartre. That same year, Nabis's first exhibition took place in Saint-Germain-en-Laye; in addition, Bonnard's works were presented at the Salon of Independents. The artist, like other nabis, began to collaborate with the magazine “Revue blanche”, which united key figures of literary and artistic life late XIX century. Marthe (Maria) Boursin, who became his constant companion and model, and later his wife, posed for Bonnar's 1894 magazine poster.
Pierre Bonnard
Poster "La Revue Blanche"
1894
Together with Sérusier, Vuillard, Ranson, and Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard worked on stage productions at the Free Theater of Andre Antoine, the Theater of Creativity of Lunier-Pau, as well as in the puppet theater created by his son-in-law, composer Claude Terrasse.
Bonnard's graphic works were highly praised by critics. Already in 1896, Paul Durand-Ruel organized a personal exhibition of the artist; In Brussels, at the exhibition “Free Aesthetics”, his works were presented along with works by Vuillard and Aristide Maillol. Ambroise Vollard printed a series of lithographs by Bonnard “Several aspects of Parisian life” (“Quelques aspects de la vie de Рaris”, 1899), and later ordered him illustrations for the books he published (Paul Verlaine. “Parallel”, Paris, 1900; Long. "Daphnis and Chloe". Paris, 1902, etc.).
Pierre Bonnard
Album cover “Several aspects of Parisian life”
1898
Two-color lithograph on Chinese paper. 53×40.6
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Together with other nabis, Bonnard created sketches of stained glass for the Tiffany company (1895). Decorative arts Nabis paid considerable attention, seeing in it a way of transforming everyday life. Bonnard was also passionate about photography: he often filmed what he wrote, and then built it himself paintings characterized by the character of a “random”, sometimes “blurred” photograph.
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Pierre Bonnard
Martha Bonnar
1889-1901
Pierre Bonnard
Martha Bonnar
1889-1901
Pierre Bonnard
Martha Bonnar
1889-1901
Already in the 1890s, Bonnard was called an “intimist.” Combining various genres: landscape, interior, still life, nude, portrait - he showed things and figures at close range, admiring them and bringing good humor into their perception. Having started as a post-impressionist, captivated by new decorative solutions close to the Art Nouveau style, Bonnard over time became more and more relaxed in his writing style and in the compositional structure of his works. Although he refused to record direct impressions - the initial principle of the impressionists, and worked mainly from memory, in the studio, his work in many ways resurrected the impressionistic tradition, drowned out by new trends; his paintings show the influence of Edgar Degas and Claude Monet. It is no coincidence that Bonnard was highly regarded by Auguste Renoir and Odilon Redon, and he himself, in a conversation with Henri Matisse, once called himself “the last impressionist.”
The artist's attention was most focused on working with color, and not with light, which was the essence of impressionistic painting. Unlike the Fauves, who operated with large planes of pure color, Bonnard adhered to a finely nuanced range of halftones. His palette did not lose its soft mutedness; the paint was applied with light strokes, blurring the boundaries between objects and environment, which Bonnard is endowed with independent expressiveness. As a result, the precious pictorial fabric of the artist’s paintings - for all its flatness - reveals a complex, dynamic image.
In the early 1900s, Nabi's group disbanded. Bonnard began to engage in monumental art, in particular he created the triptych “U Mediterranean Sea"for the mansion of I. A. Morozov. The artist traveled a lot, visited Spain (1905), Belgium and Holland (1906), England, Algeria, Tunisia (1908); later visited Germany (1913) and Italy (1921).
In the south of France, Bonnard met with Paul Signac and Renoir (1910), and in 1912 he acquired an estate in Vernonne and often saw Monet, who lived in Giverny. In 1925 he settled in Le Cannet on the Côte d'Azur.
After World War I, Bonnard wrote: “I am learning the basics again, starting with the ABCs.<…>I draw all the time. And the drawing is followed by a composition that creates the balance of the picture. A well-composed picture is already half done.” The color in his works not only becomes richer and brighter, but acquires a rare quality of luminosity. The topic is the same in mature years remained the same, only the views of Paris disappeared.
Despite the fact that the artist’s work was accompanied by success from the very beginning, he himself avoided a commercial orientation in his activities. Thus, in 1936, he refused to paint a panel for the Palace of the League of Nations in Geneva, explaining that the proposed plan was not consistent with his artistic intentions.
Bonnard's late paintings are marked by great expressiveness and even drama.
Pierre Bonnard in his studio in Paris
1937
Albert Harlingue / Roger-Viollet / East News